WHAT WE BELIEVE

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths."

- Proverbs 3:5-6

Statement of Faith

What we believe is grounded in the orthodoxy of believers who began their expression of faith in community as the Church emerged almost 2000 years ago.

THE APOSTLES' CREEDI believe in God, the Father Almighty,Creator of heaven and earth.I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our LordHe was conceived by the power of the Holy SpiritAnd born of the Virgin Mary.He suffered under Pontius Pilate,Was crucified, died, and was buried.He descended to the dead.On the third day he rose again.He ascended into heaven,And is seated at the right hand of the Father.He will come again to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit,The holy Christian Church,The communion of saints,The forgiveness of sins,The resurrection of the body,And the life everlasting. Amen.

The Person of jesus

We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ; in His Virgin Birth; in His sinless humanity; in His miracles; in His perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people through the shedding of His blood and death on the cross; in His bodily resurrection; in His ascension to the right hand of the Father; and in His personal return in power and glory. He is the perfect image of the invisible God. He reveals the true nature of the Father. He is the manifestation of the LOGOS of God, the thought, the mind, the heart of God

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, and to be bearer of God’s image, but that through Adam’s sin, all of mankind has fallen and inherited a sin nature, thus man in his natural state is lost, alienated from God and incapable of attaining salvation by any personal effort or merit.

(Genesis 1:26; Romans 3, 5:12-19; Ephesians 2:1-3, 4:18-19).

​the atonement

We believe that the Cross is clearly demonstrating in God reconciling humanity to Himself according to 1 Cor 5:19. It is the greatest revelation of the Love of God as the Son offered Himself for the remission of the sin nature. The cross isn’t where God changes His mind about mankind but for mankind to change his thoughts about God’s unfailing love.

“Being disguised under the disfigurement of an ugly crucifixion and death, the Christ upon the cross is paradoxically the clearest revelation of who God is.” ~ Hans Urs von Balthasar

Holy SPirit

We believe in the promise of the Holy Spirit, not as an influence, but as a Divine Person, who was sent at Pentecost to unify all believers into one body, the Church. He is our abiding Comforter and Helper, and is ever present to testify of Christ, and the transforming power to form us in His image. We believe in what is referred to as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. The purpose of the baptism in the Holy Spirit is to impart spiritual power to the believer to be a witness.

We believe the Scriptures to be the only inspired, infallible Word of God. The Scriptures are the unified story that leads to Jesus. We study it together, and build our lives on its truth.(2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:21; 1 Cor. 2:13; Mark 12:26,36; 13:11; Acts 1:16; 2:4).

the authority of scripture

We believe in the Divine inspiration and authority of the 66 books of the Holy Bible as the complete canon of God's testimony to mankind. We are committed to esteeming Scripture as the very Word of God, inerrant in its original form. We do not accept any doctrine which contradicts Scripture.

We understand that there are many practices and doctrines that are considered orthodox, which do not contradict the Scripture, but which are not directly addressed in His Word. We are committed to giving liberty in the belief and practice of these teachings, but we will endeavor to maintain the simplicity of the biblical testimony and its stated practices as we are given grace to perceive them. We do not accept any spiritual experience as having its source in the Holy Spirit that does not have a precedent in Scripture. We do not accept any revelation, vision, dream, prophecy or discernment as truth which contradicts Scripture, or cannot be verified by it. We do not believe that any other writings have the same authority as the canon of Scripture.

the lord's supper

We acknowledge the ordinance of the Lord's Supper in remembrance of Jesus and as a testimony of our communion (common-union) with Him in His body, the church. We consider it a holy ordinance, but we do not accept the teaching that communion is for the purpose of remitting sins, which Scripture testifies is based solely in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross (Hebrews 9:25-28).

water baptism

Baptism is given to the Church as an expression for a Follower of Christ’s commitment to Faith and Community. It is a personal and public statement of faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ on our behalf, and is a commitment to lay down our lives to be one with Him in His death, burial and resurrection.The only form of baptism we practice is believer’s baptism by immersion, not the sprinkling on of water.

TRAINING & EQUIPPING

“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ." - Ephesians 4:11-14

Our desire is to equip the people of all ages to step into their calling and destiny to impact their community with a life that is passionate for the Lord and with live-giving compassion for the people around them. We often have small workshops on various subjects relevant to living successfully in every area such as finances, parenting, family life, as well as learning to hear the voice of the Lord, healing, and worship.

﻿WHAT IS YOUR GIFT?

"Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy”- I Corinthians 14:1

“So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church” - I Corinthians 14:12

“As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” - I Peter 4:10

We believe in helping every person in our fellowship to know their identity and gifting enabling them to step out and serve the Lord and the body of Christ in a powerful way. We provide opportunities to participate in prophetic teams, children’s ministry, worship teams, intercession and prayer, hospitality, home groups, art, etc... Our heart is to see people grow in their giftings in a safe and loving environment.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned. These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover" - Mark 16:15-19

Another primary call for our fellowship and for every believer individually is to reach the lost and disciple new believers. The primary way that we have planned to do this is through our Ministry Teams. These are teams of people from our fellowship that consistently go out into the city and demonstrate the kingdom by ministering to people through the prophetic, through service, and by demonstrating love.

It is through these Ministry Teams that people in our fellowship are given the opportunity, support, and training to step out in faith to do the works of Jesus. We believe that we are the catalyst of His kingdom in Wilmington. We desire to establish outreaches and reach the lost wherever God sends us.

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden”